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Purpose -The objective of this paper is to highlight the results of a survey on compliance practices in Italian financial institutions (Italian banks and branches in Italy of foreign banks). Design/methodology/approach -The survey is carried out through a structured questionnaire, arranged into several sections: general information on the definition and framework of compliance risk, organizational structure, reporting, culture, purpose and tasks of the compliance staff, assessment of the compliance staff performance and of the risk. The survey is mainly developed on two issues: organizational and risk assessment implications. Findings -It is found that many survey participants are responding positively to regulation developments, since there is a widespread recognition of compliance as a key element for creating value and improving reputation. It is also found that the Italian banks surveyed, whose compliance activities have been usually performed by internal audit, dedicate less attention to compliance matters in comparison with the branches of foreign banks. The institutions interviewed underline the need to have clear guidelines from supervisory authorities, so that they can achieve an effective and efficient management of compliance risk. Originality/value -This subject has not been analyzed in depth to date. This paper provides a representative view of the management of compliance risk in Italian banks, thanks to the variety of the issues under observation and the size of the sample.

Purpose This paper aims to focus on the relation between digital transformation and banks’ reputation, as examined through the information disclosed by the five largest Italian banking groups’ efforts to extend and enhance their digital resources. Considering digitalization as a key strategy for managing reputation, which, in turn, can leverage financial and value performance management, the paper investigates whether and how digital activities might affect banks’ reputation. Therefore, this paper proposes the relationship between digitalization and reputation as a lever for performance management and for increasing efficiency. Design/methodology/approach The authors use content analysis to generate a digital disclosure index, categorizing activities human, structural and relational. For banks’ reputations, the proxies are a measure of corporate reputation and a reputational risk index. Methodologically the study used multiple case studies, considered as particularly suitable to gain an in-depth understanding of the topic in the case of the five banks. A collection of secondary data and semi-structured interviews are included. Findings Overall, the digitalization-reputation link shows that banks’ reputation is variously affected, not only by exposure to risk (including reputational risk) but also by strategic issues such as digitalization and the effectiveness of the corresponding communication. Consequently, banks should view digitalization as a key driver to be considered not in a stand-alone perspective, but in a combined approach. Research limitations/implications Continued research should include the Covid-19 implications. Additionally, it would be important to compare a larger number of banks, with different characteristics, also including variables indicating the corporate governance mechanisms. Practical implications The analysis contributes to fostering scholars’ and practitioners’ management of the digital transformation challenge that is a current key-factor, capable of increasing banks’ value. It considers not only the drivers directly affecting monetary value but also the institutions’ social and relational value, as well as their reputation. Originality/value This paper extends prior research on the digitalization-reputation relation by investigating digital transformation through disclosure of activities in this area within the Italian banking sector. It allows to leverage the key-factors that can contribute to increasing banks’ value, considering not only the drivers directly affecting monetary value but also the institutions’ social and relational value, as well as their reputation.

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The article investigates the intellectual capital disclosure of Italian banks over the years 2016-2017, applying the specific lens of healthy and distressed banks. To this end, we used content analysis and encoding techniques. The main results point out that intellectual capital (IC) disclosure is generally poor and that the intensity of disclosure varies slightly between healthy and distressed banks. Regarding the quality of disclosure, healthy banks present a higher, albeit modest, tendency to disclose non-qualitative and forward-looking information, maybe due to the fact that they are more focused on the strategies and the relationships with stakeholders as opposed to a more short-term approach of the distressed banks. To complement our study on healthy and distressed banks, we repeated the analysis focusing on bank size and independent directors. In this case, results do not show relevant differences in terms of IC disclosure. Hence, our findings suggest the need to consider banks' IC disclosure as a strategic asset for increasing, among others, transparency and reputation.Sustainability 2020, 12, 3174 2 of 20 considered a "phenomenon of interrelationships and interactions, having each component little value if considered per se, but as a whole it represents great value for the organization" [8].In respect of the individual types of capital, it is possible, consistent with the existing literature, to detect some characterizing features. Human capital, defined by Sveiby [4] as "the capacity to act in a wide variety of situations to create both tangible and intangible assets", consists of personnel's attributes (e.g., knowledge, skills, motivation, experience, abilities); some of them are linked to individuals (such as technical competence, previous experience, and creativity), while others are connected with the firm as a whole (e.g., teamwork, healthy work environment). Brooking [2] defines structural capital as "the skeleton and the adhesive of the organization, which strengthens the company and creates a close and coherent relationship between individuals and their processes", so that it may be regarded as the knowledge inherent in a single organization. Some examples include procedures, systems, cultures, databases, technologies, and organizational learning capacity. Lastly, relational capital focuses on the relations of a firm with third parties, such as customers, suppliers, investors, and creditors, and also includes the external perception of the firm. For this, it may relate to elements such as image, customer loyalty and satisfaction, and environmental activities [9].It is therefore clear how the IC could be enhanced within a knowledge-based scenario, taking into account that only a profitable knowledge management, aimed at achieving the best benefit of stakeholders, may represent a significant driver of the companies' success [9]; this is particularly significant in the case of banks, as "perfect" representatives of a knowledge-based economy. Thus, IC is essential in the banking activity [6]: banks...